Some cars were parked in the hardware store parking lot. 1 more car parks at the hardware store. Now there are 55 cars in the parking lot. How many cars were parked at the hardware store at the beginning?
Solution: The number of cars parked at the store at the beginning is the difference of the number parked now and the number that came and parked earlier. The difference is $55 - 1$ cars. $55 - 1 = 54$ cars.